


Orphanage Escapades

by Scaranpannoir



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adorable Harry, Almost Plotless, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Apparently there is plot, Cross-Generation Relationship, Fluff, Innocent Harry, Lotsa Smut, M/M, Magically Powerful Harry Potter, Possessive-ish Tom, lotsa kinks that will be warned at the beginning of each chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-01-09 08:56:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 17,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12273111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scaranpannoir/pseuds/Scaranpannoir
Summary: Life in the orphanage was bitter, and Tom hated it. But when a sweet little boy ends up on said orphanage's doorstep, for some reason he couldn't understand why he just couldn't ignore him like he does the rest of the children.





	1. The Arrival Of Harry

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically PWP, and I while I do have an ending to Bound To You, I still can't figure out how to lead the story towards said ending, so I think I should cool off for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still not sure where this'll go, to be honest, so don't get your hopes up...

Life in an orphanage was  _such_ a joke! He didn't understand why, just  _why,_ he was singled out! Just because he could do magic, doesn't mean that he should be everyone's punching bag! Well, at least he gave as good as he got, maybe even more, if the crunch he heard when his fist collided with Danes' nose was any indication. 12-year-old Tom Riddle smirked when he remembered Danes' face as he cupped his bloody, broken nose.

He deserved it, after all.

With a smirk, he sat on his chair and started on some potions essay. He couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts, even if more than half the school's population views him as evil, no thanks to the meddling old fool of a transfiguration professor. By the time he'd written all ten inches of essay, it was dinnertime already.

Knowing that it was something he couldn't just escape, he sighed and left for the dining area.

What he found there was... unusual, to say the least. The other orphans were whispering amongst themselves, pointing at a new face.

"Settle down, everyone!" Mrs. Cole called out, her eyes looking around in disdain, which intensified when her gaze landed on him. "This is Harry, be nice to him."

The new face, Harry, lifted his head startling green eyes immediately taking away most of everyone's breath. Tom couldn't help staring at them--bright green, poison-like colour, he felt as if those eyes could see right through his soul. And when their eyes did, it really did feel like that.

"I'm afraid that there are no more vacant rooms," Mrs. Cole said resignedly. "So, Riddle, I expect you to room with him."

Tom only spared her a glance and nodded before his attention was once more on the boy. He looked to be 3-4 years old, small and skinny and yet still stunningly beautiful. Seeing his nod, the boy's eyes gained a curious light, and he approached Tom a little bit shyly, sitting himself beside him at the end of the dining table. Something about the boy made Tom feel... possessive.

Mrs. Cole only served him a piece of bread, in which Harry looked at in wonder before taking tiny nibbles on it. Each time he took a bite, a small, pink tongue darted out to lick his lips, a gesture Tom couldn't take his eyes off of.

He was disappointed when dinner ended, surprising as it was, but when he remembered that he was supposed to be rooming with the boy, his chest was filled with a strange feeling. The boy followed him rather obediently, quietly as if he didn't want to make a single noise that could disturb the usual stillness of the orphanage.

"This is our room," Tom said as he opened the door leading to said room. It was a small room, with a bunk bed, a desk filled with Tom's books and essays, a chair and one big wardrobe. "You can take the top bunk if you want, I usually sleep in the bottom one."

Harry just nodded and gave him a small smile of thanks. He didn't understand why that small gesture made his heart beat faster, but that feeling that filled him to the brim before came back, and he returned the smile with one of his own.

"Name's Tom Riddle, by the way," he introduced himself.

"Harry," the boy smiled wider, his voice small, almost like a whisper.

"Just Harry?" Tom raised an eyebrow at that. Didn't the boy have a last name? Harry frowned in concentration while Tom looked at him in contemplation.

"Freak...?" he asked. Tom's heart immediately went cold, and he was barely holding back his anger. How dare he call him that vile word! Somehow sensing his anger, Harry's eyes widened in fear, and he stuttered, "A-aunt Petunia and Dudley always called me that!"

That took him by surprise. How dare his aunt and this Dudley call this beautiful creature a freak!

"I-I'm sorry..." Harry closed his eyes, seemingly trying to not cry.

"No need to be, Harry," Tom said, the gentleness in his voice surprising him. "What do you think about sharing a surname?" Tom offered as the idea appeared in his mind.

"Sharing a surname...?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Tom nodded. "You know, like what families do."

"So... I'll be Harry Riddle...?" he asked with a hopeful tone of voice. "You'll be... my brother?"

"Yes, Harry Riddle," Tom nodded more to himself than to Harry. Tom and Harry Riddle, it had a nice ring to it. Yes, just like-- "Wait, brothers?"

"I have a brother..." Harry said in awe, and Tom found that he liked it when those curious green eyes gazed at him with such awe and adoration that he didn't want to break the boy's happy bubble. He guessed that he could accept being Harry's brother... for now. Still, he was a bit surprised that Harry accepted him so easily--it was a breath of fresh air to be accepted without putting any effort on doing so.

"So, how old are you, Harry?" Tom asked as he guided the boy onto his bed.

"Seven!" Harry said after a while, showing him seven fingers. This surprised Tom, to put it lightly.

"Seven?" If he was seven... No, he's far too small to be seven!

"I think so...?"

"Well, then, I'll lay some ground rules to you, then," Tom sighed. Harry just nodded and gave him all of his attention. "The first one is that you will always, always listen to me," he said sternly, to which Harry nodded. "The second one is that the word freak is an absolute taboo." At the word taboo, Harry looked confused, but nodded anyway. "The third is that you tell me anything and everything that happened to you that you don't like or find odd, and lastly, don't touch my belongings unless you have permission from me. Is that clear?"

Harry nodded.

"Any questions?"

"What's a taboo?" was the first question.

"A taboo is something you shouldn't say or do," Tom said simply.

"Okay..."

"Anything else?" Tom smiled, and they continued their talk until Harry fell asleep not too far into the night. What Tom didn't know was that this was the beginning of something beautiful, something even he could never have thought would ever happen to him before. Something that only Fate could make to come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Also, check out my other stories from ffn and wattpad! Pretty pleeeeease? *puppy eyes, I'll even give you cookies!
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	2. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to see a plot here.... Like, seriously. I thought this'd be a PWP...? 6(`m`)/ Hints on verbal abuse here, though there'll be lotsa fluff that you might drown in it. Enjoy!

Tom was thinking of a plan that has been formulating in his head ever since he'd known that he was a wizard--on how to take over the ministry, who couldn't even find the funds to build an orphanage, something muggles had thought of for many years! Creating elementary schools, kindergartens, schools for muggle-raised children! Of course, he'd done his research in the library, and he knew from previous visits to a few libraries here and there that Wool's Orphanage visited, about muggle politics and economy, how things work in the world, how to spot incompetent people from miles away...

And he could tell that while the minister was intelligent, he was incompetent. He relies too much on the public support rather than doing things he deems right. Though that'd be a problem too, he'd rather have a minister with a spine rather than a spineless one. Incompetent, selfish, spineless. Tom sighed, getting annoyed like this wasn't good for his thought process.

Suddenly, Harry bolted in his bed, sitting upright with a terrified light in his eyes, his face covered in sweat. He was panting, and Tom knew immediately that Harry had a nightmare.

"Harry? Are you alright?"

The younger boy didn't answer, even as tears started to fall as he silently cried. Normally, Tom would roll his eyes and go back to whatever he was doing before, but the noiseless movements Harry made was so silent that it was worrying. Throughout his stay, Harry only spoke when spoken to, walks on light feet as if he'd cast a silencing charm on his footsteps, and closed door so quietly that you'd take a while to notice that Harry had gone out through the door, if not for Tom's constant watch.

Tom sighed and turned fully towards the shaking, crying boy.

"Harry Riddle," he said, and the boy seemed to jolt out of his bout of hysteria.  _'Interesting...'_ Tom thought. "Do you remember our rules?"

Harry nodded hesitantly.

"Recite them."

"A-always listen to you," Harry gulped, his voice shaky from crying. "T-the word freak is a... taboo..."

"And?"

"D-don't touch your things without permission... and... tell you everything and anything that b-bothers me or I find odd..." Harry finished, his voice not so shaky after he was done.

"Exactly, now come down here."

Fear flashed through the boy's features, but he nodded anyways. His complexion was pale once his feet touched the ground, and he was shaking, trying to not have a panic attack at being so near someone. Tom opened his arms in invitation, in which Harry gave him a confused look at.

"Come here," Tom coaxed gently. Harry shuffled over hesitantly, and when he was near enough, Tom gently pulled him onto his lap. At first Harry was tense at being so close to someone, at being touched, but as Tom said, "Good boy, you've done well, haven't you?" Harry felt himself relax. With his head on Tom's shoulder, he closed his eyes.

"Now, why don't you tell me what made you feel so scared?"

Harry shook his head.

"Why not?"

He trembled a little, but he started to explain anyways. "I-it's silly. It's just--just a dream... I'm supposed to be--be a good boy, but getting scared of--of a dream is just... it's freaky!" Harry sobbed. "I'm just a freak, just like Aunt and Uncle said! A worthless freak that get scared of his own--his own dream!" Harry sobbed quietly.

"Shh, there, there, you're such a good boy for telling me, now aren't you?" Tom cooed, wiping a few tears that escaped his eyes. "How could you be a worthless freak when you're such a good boy?" Tom reasoned, making Harry meet his eyes. "And what did I say about the word...?"

"I-it's a taboo," Harry hiccupped. "That I'm not supposed to say it, or do it?"

"Exactly," Tom nodded.

"I-I'm sorry... brother," Harry sniffled.

"And you're forgiven," Tom smiled.

"You'd forgive me? Even though I did something wrong?" Harry asked, calming down.

"Of course, you were distressed. And you were telling me what was bothering you, so I will forgive you for saying that word."

"Okay... Thank you, Tom."

"What's family for, if you're unable to forgive one another when one asks for forgiveness?" Tom asked. Harry giggled.

"I like it," he said, relaxing against Tom's form even more. "I like it when you said we're family... It feels nice."

"As it should be," Tom kissed his forehead. Surprised green eyes met his calm dark ones.

"You kissed me," Harry stated.

"Indeed I did."

"No one's ever kissed me before," the younger boy smiled, and his smile lit up the whole room, even brighter than the Summer sun. "It feels nice," Harry giggled. "Kiss me again?"

"Alright," Tom grinned, and kissed him full on the lips. It was a short one, though the feeling lingered afterwards. Harry smiled at him and relaxed in his lap.  _'Such an innocent boy...'_ Tom thought as he grinned to himself.  _'I'll never let harm come to you, Harry. You're mine,'_ he thought possessively.

Turning off the room's light, Tom carried Harry into his bed and curled up next to him, sleep claiming them quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, fine, just search for Scaranpannoir in google and you can find me anywhere... well, almost. I don't have social media, other than facebook and Line :P
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	3. Tummyache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, Harry gets digestive problems and comes to Tom for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings? Fluff and this thing called scat (which basically means poop, in case you don't know that).
> 
> If only Hotaru were a guy... I'd love to ship her with the other two guys :( If anyone is familiar with Aoharu x Kikanjuu... Another side-note, it's actually 1 AM and I've been up since yesterday... 10 AM. Yeah. And I have classes this morning so woo hoo for me. ;_;

_Why is it that when you're waiting for something, time seems to be in a standstill, and when you're having fun, time just flies by?_

Tom sighed at the book's words. It was obvious why. Your sense of time would be completely ignored in favor of other things when you're having fun, but when you're waiting for something, you'll be all too aware of it. It was a bad pastime, reading pointless muggle books. Especially in an orphanage, you mostly get to read storybooks, novels. There was a huge book of Mother Goose stories that Wool's Orphanage had recently received, and along with that, a plethora of novels.

It was mindless and boring, but Harry had wanted to read the book and Tom had to check it first for anything untowardly, such as ideals that would ruin the world or something. It was mostly a story about a mysterious island which some robbers inhabited, and was said to be haunted. It oddly sounded like Mark Twain's book,  _Huckleberry Finn,_ but with more people and mystery, and less danger.

It was just sad that they had to kill the snake at the beginning, but it was a muggle novel, so what can he do?

As he kept on reading, the door opened. Harry hesitantly walked in and went over to the older boy. Tom marked and closed the book before turning towards him.

"What's wrong, Harry?" he asked, noting the uncomfortable look the younger boy adorned.

"My tummy hurts," he mumbled, his hand rubbing said stomach in circles.

"Show me," Tom said, leading the boy to his bed. He positioned him so that Harry would be sitting on his lap-- _and how good did his weight felt on him--_ which gave him easier access to his slightly distended stomach.

"I found these yummy-looking berries, see," Harry pulled out small, orange berries that he occasionally saw growing in the bushes near the orphanage. "They were bitter, though, so don't eat it!" Harry warned.

"Why, pray tell, did you eat some random berries that you found without knowing anything about them? They could be poisonous for all you know," Tom scolded though his hand never ceased from rubbing the warm belly.

"'m sorry," he mumbled. "But they looked so yummy and bright..." Tom sighed.

"And?"

"I ate them a few days ago, and now I can't poo," Harry pouted. "And now my tummy's hurting and feels so full from all the poop!"

_Oh, he'd love to fill his tummy with something else so that he'd feel so full from him--_ Tom shook his head to banish those thoughts.

"When I tried to push out the poop like usual, my butt would hurt and it would feel like it'd rip from the pressure... I don't know what to do, Tom..."

"Hmm... I think I know the solution for this," Tom said contemplatively. The words 'rip' and 'butt' triggered a memory from his Healing class in Hogwarts, where when two guys copulate, they'd have to prepare their anal passage, clean them up with a few handy spells, or an enema, and use fingers and lots of lube to open up their sphincter. It definitely sounded like Harry would need a little bit of fingering to help with his problem.

Beaming at his brother, Harry hugged him. "Thank you Tom! You're the bestest!"

"Best," Tom corrected.

"That's what I said! But better, because bestest is better than best!" he explained rather childishly. Tom conceded on that point and told him to go to the bathroom while he searched for a few things he'll need to help. Too bad that he couldn't use magic, and that since it's wartime, water was somewhat limited, or else he'd love to give little Harry and enema. But alas, he'd have to settle with just lube and a few fingers.

It was easy to obtain lube, since Mrs. Cole would sometimes misplace it in her office, where she kept all the legal documents in, which Tom had access to whenever she forgot to lock the room. Luckily for him, even if she didn't forget, he could cast a wandless alohomora on said door and grab the lube. Why she'd misplace it in there in the first place, he never knew and he doesn't want to know.

With a bottle of lube in hand, Tom entered the bathroom and magically locked and warded the room, thankful that he'd learnt to do it since first year, back when his dorm mates would take away his things just for fun. Harry looked up to him and smiled widely. "I waited here just like you told me to do!" he declared proudly. Tom chuckled at his antics and told him to strip.

Shyly, Harry complied, not knowing that he was giving Tom a show in which his member was certainly interested in.

"Now, on my lap, with your legs spread," he commanded, feeling an odd sense of joy when Harry complied immediately. He bit back a groan when his hard, clothed prick rubbed against Harry's lower back. With his back to his chest, Tom let him lean on him when he sat on a stool with Harry in his lap. He positioned his legs so that they were hooked against his own spread ones.

"This is embarrassing," Harry admitted.

"But you want your stomachache to go away, don't you?" Tom smiled. Harry looked into his eyes and nodded.

"You're like a doctor, Tom. You know, the one that's ready to inject weird things with a see-range needle thing. So I know you can make my tummy ache go away!"

"I'm not a doctor, Harry. Why do you say that?"

"Because... umm..." Harry tried to think. "Because you're the bestest, so I know you know how!"

"Alright then," Tom smiled fondly. "Now I need you to relax so that I can help you widen your anal sphincter."

"Ana... what?"

"Your butthole," Tom said bluntly, and Harry blushed at his rather vulgar words. He took a deep breath and nodded, relaxing his body against Tom's. He squirted a bit of lube onto his finger and rubbed it between said fingers until it warmed up before he let them circle Harry's tight hole.

And when he said tight, he meant  _very tight._

He bit back a groan when the first digit enter the tight heat, the tip of his finger encountering something quite solid when it was two knuckles deep.

"I think you touched my poop!" Harry gasped, his face red with embarrassment, and yet his eyes were full of wonder and curiosity. "I felt it! It moved a teeny tiny bit!" Tom chuckled into Harry's hair. Indeed, the younger boy gasped when he began to wiggle his finger inside, pushing the solid log back, deeper into Harry.

"Tom, wait, stop, it feels weird," Harry complained, squirming in his arms.

"But you want your stomachache to go away, do you not?" Tom asked him again, to which Harry nodded to. He did his best to relax his body, even as Tom's finger moved in and out of his butt, occasionally pushing his solid poop back in.

Another finger joined the first one, and Tom began to part them, wiggling and moving in general, separating and joining, and--

Harry gasped when his fingers brushed against something deep inside.

"What was that?" he asked, eyes wide when that feeling came back. Tom had deliberately crooked his finger right against that spot, which made Harry thrash and moan. "Tom, please, stop--Tom! Tom, it feels weird!"

Tears started to slide down Harry's face, and yet Tom kept on scissoring him, adding a third finger when he deemed him ready.

"Ah, I think it's ready to come out now," Tom announced when he felt the solid log pushing past the sphincter, further than before when he practically fucked Harry with it. Tom carried him to the toilet and watched as log after solid log escaped his far more relaxed anus. The look of utter relief on Harry's face nearly made him cum--nearly. If only he hadn't came when Harry had been squirming against his erection, he'd be doing so uncontrollably now.

After cleaning up his finger and Harry's butt, he stole a glance towards the toilet bowl, his eyes dilating at the size of the solid logs. They were as big as an erect cock, though he knew that his was bigger. Such an odd thing to think about but it was somewhat erotic. Flushing the toilet, he went back to redress a tired Harry.

"Thank you, Tom," he mumbled.

"You're welcome. Now, do you still want to read that novel before bed?"

"Only if you read it for me," Harry mumbled under his breath.

"Pardon?" Tom raised an eyebrow. This was new, Harry had never asked him to read to him before bed before. "You want me to read it to you... as a bed time story?"

Harry's face flushed red at his words. "I-I mean, Dudley got Aunt Petunia to read to him back when he was little... Heck, even Lia's got read to by Connor... I just... want to be read to, you know, like them..."

Tom stared at Harry's fidgeting form before he nodded. "Alright. But rather than reading it to you, I think it'd be better if we read it together."

Harry's smile could've lit up the whole world if he so chose to show it to the world. Too bad Tom's bloody possessive, only he could see that beaming smile, and only towards him that that smile would be shone to.

As they read the story together, he couldn't help but think, that perhaps... he felt some sort of lust towards the green-eyed boy? Or maybe... Could this possibly be... love?

...

Of course not, that's such a ridiculous notion.

It was lust that he felt towards Harry. Pure lust and possessiveness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2:19 AM, and I'm getting sleepy... and hungry, lol. Hope you enjoyed that. And the book I referred to... I think it wasn't an English book--heck I don't even know if it existed back in Tom's time, so... I think it was Lima Sekawan, an Indonesian book that I read back when I was little (looool) but I'm not too sure. Anyways, good night, sleep tight, don't worry if there are bugs, just let them bite. It only stings a bit, you know.
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	4. Exorcism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Harry finds out why Tom hates Priests' visits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be frank; I don't know how religious cultures work in exorcisms, but judging by books, movies, animes and such, I think that it's safe to say that the priests and fathers and ustadzs and all the other religion purifier people would do some sort of visit to haunted houses... I think.
> 
> On another note, warnings are child abuse in the guise of exorcism. Yes, that's basically it. :/ So if anyone's triggered by those things, just tell me. I'll put a recap of this chapter if you decide to not read this. If not, well, I won't. 6(`o`)9

It was July, that much Tom was aware. Though he didn't really want to think about it, the annual priests' visit was coming. Harry had been oddly perceptive, and he'd asked, many times, why he was looking rather tense.

"I'm fine," Tom snapped, but Harry didn't look convinced. If he'd not been so on edge, he'd realize that the reason Harry had stopped pestering him about his odd behaviour was because there was fear in his eyes. But he didn't, and he was just relieved that he stopped pestering him at all. Afterwards, Harry spent the day quietly, afraid to even  _look_ at his older brother. He felt bad, but the thought of seeing  _those priests_ made him feel worse.

After lunchtime, those priests came, did their usual sermons for the orphanage children, then proceeded to drag him into his usual room--his Exorcism Room. He knew and expected what's to come; pain, isolation, hunger, coldness, fear. He wished that he could get out of the room, but he couldn't--not until those damned priests deemed him 'pure enough' to be let loose to the other 'pure, innocent souls'.

The only person in the whole orphanage that he'd call pure and innocent was Harry, and Harry alone. Even after he'd defiled him slightly by fingering him, he was still so pure, his wide eyes showing every single emotion he could feel--emotions that he sometimes never knew existed. The pain began, and all Tom could think about was to bite his mouth so that he wouldn't start screaming.

To do that would be satisfying Mrs. Cole's sadistic desires.

He tried to not scream, but at last, a repetitive, harsh blow to his back had him screaming. He could faintly register some sort of commotion outside, someone screaming, things crashing, the door rattling.

"What's the ruckus?" one of the priests asked another, one that wasn't chanting.

"I dunno," he said, swinging the thing he had in his hand down to land another blow to Tom's back. He closed his eyes, prepared to feel more pain from that blow. And this time, it tore his back open, and he could feel blood escaping the wound. Then, there was wind. Not the usual kind, but a harsh, oppressing one.

He wondered where the wind came from, and glanced towards the door. Sure enough, Harry stood in the doorway, his small form a silhouette against the light of the hallway, the dim room barely lighting up his features. His inky black hair was a halo of power as he commanded the wind to push back all of the priests, and his eyes glowed with power when he saw him.

No words were said, but he could see that the cane they were using to hit him had been duplicated a few times before they flew to the unsuspecting priests. They screamed as blow after blow came upon them, and Tom watched with sadistic glee at how quick they came undone when something they did to him was done to them. Harry touched his bleeding back, his finger trailing the length of it.

"Oh, Tom," he whispered sadly, and it made even  _Tom_ choke on his unshed tears. He didn't even know he  _had_ tears to shed.

The wind around them died down some, and the older wizard gingerly got up, wincing at the pain. He silently gazed at Harry in a new light, the revelation that  _Harry is a wizard_ still trying to sink in.

"Tom, Tom!" Harry wailed, his tears falling in rivulets now. "They hu-hurt you!" he sobbed, and the older wizard just shushed him.

"But you saved me, Harry," he whispered soothingly, relieved that he wouldn't have to feel an overnight torture like always.

"B-but you're... you're blee-ding," he hiccupped.

"Had you not saved me, I'd get out of this room with more than just red skin and a bleeding wound," he pointed out. Harry just wailed more at that, and Tom just hugged him to his chest. Cradling the smaller body to his, Tom gingerly walked to their room, ignoring the surprised faces of the orphanage children. Once the door closed, a grin slowly made its' was to Tom's face.

_Harry's a wizard!_

It just made him all the more happy. But if he were to go to Hogwarts, then Harry would be left here by himself without him protecting him. He didn't want him to be subjected to the other orphan children's cruelty and face it all alone, like he did before he knew he was a wizard himself. There must be a way...

Harry sniffled in his sleep, having cried himself to exhaustion. Laying on his bed with his precious cargo in his arms, Tom smiled. Kissing Harry sweetly on the lips, he decided that he'd ask Headmaster Dippet. And for that, he'd bring Harry to Hogwarts, and he was quite firm in that decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was odd :9 So I've decided that Harry should go to Hogwarts, and my midterms are coming up in a week or so :( Hopefully that means more updates less study, or that means more sleep less study, whichever comes. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	5. Lullaby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wonders what normal brothers normally do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much of a warning other than fluff, I guess... Oh, and this is from Harry's POV rather than the usual Tom's POV, so a treat, I guess?

Harry watched as Tom wrote with a feather on a weird-looking paper. He'd taken to watching his new brother all Summer, and he was relieved to note that unlike Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia, Tom didn't react too much on his freakishness. Oops, Harry shook his head, he shouldn't use the word 'freak' since it's a 'taboo' for Tom. So... weirdness? Yeah, weirdness. Tom never reprimanded him for his weirdness, even though he's his normal big brother.

But maybe it's because he's a normal big brother that he treats him with such kindness? He had seen how siblings react to each other--glimpses of a normal life that he'd wished for himself, a what-if he'd not been such a fre... weirdo.

But Tom was weird too, since the church people wanted to lock him up and hurt him. Maybe they were both weird, and they were the weird brothers? That must be it, he nodded to himself. Then that means that they should do what brothers do, shouldn't they? Harry thought back to that one time when his tummy ached, and Tom helped him by putting his fingers in his bum and wondered if that's something normal brothers do.

He remembered when Dudley complained to Aunt Petunia about his tummy hurting, and concluded that maybe normal brothers  _do_ help each other, and that he did something normal for once. His face lit up with happiness at the thought of doing something normal with his brother. What else, though? What else do normal brothers do?

Read bedtime stories? Sing lullabies? Harry got out of bed and climbed down, just as Tom sent an owl away. It was another weird thing he usually did, Harry noticed, Tom sending owls away semi-regularly. Sometimes he'd get something from the owl, so... maybe the owl's extremely intelligent? They do say that owls are 'wise'. He guessed that wise meant smart, like intelligent, but even more so.

"What is it Harry?" Tom asked, starting his out of his own musings.

"Hey Tom, what do normal brothers do?" Harry asked. Tom seemed to stiffen at the question, and Harry wondered if he'd asked something weird.

"What do you mean, Harry?"

"Umm, you know when you helped me with my tummy ache?" Tom nodded. "It's something brothers normally do, right? So I wondered what else brothers do?"

Tom seemed to relax at his explanation, and a smile graced his lips. Harry felt a ball of feelings in his heart expand at the sight, and he wondered what it was. He felt happy to see it, though. "Ah, yes, there are many things brothers do, like take baths together, read stories together, help each other when in trouble, and many more."

Harry nodded enthusiastically at the information. "Can we do those things?"

"Of course we can," Tom nodded. "We're the Riddle brothers, aren't we?"

Harry giggled and nodded. "So, will you, you know, read bedtime stories to me, or--or sing lullabies to me?"

"Of course."

Harry internally cheered, while outwardly smiled so wide, his cheeks hurt.

"Would you like for me to sing a lullaby to you, Harry?"

"Yes please!" he nodded. Tom climbed into bed and beckoned him to follow. Once they were both under the blankets, Harry felt Tom's arms pull him closer to him, and his warmth had Harry sighing contentedly. He'd never had hugs before he met Tom, and Tom's hugs were usually warm and tender. It made him feel safe and warm inside. Hugging him back, Harry relaxed as Tom's calm and melodic voice soothed him to sleep, and he spent another dreamless night--not the first one ever since he'd become Tom's brother.

He did wonder though, what 'Slytherin', 'Gryffindor', 'Ravenclaw', and 'Hufflepuff' meant in Tom's song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tom's lullaby--imagine the Hat's song turned into a lullaby :P At least that's what was in my mind... :9 And I still wonder why I keep getting hungry so fast even though I ate not long ago... :/
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	6. Diagon Alley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. Am. Tired. Of life. I mean, seriously, exams aren't that hard, but the pressure of getting good grades is. DX And so I've not been studying, rather I've been playing. Hurrah. And I should go to sleep since I have an exam tomorrow but I'm not tired yet, so let's move on to the chapter...

For the first time in his life, Tom felt reluctant to leave the orphanage. It felt... bizarre. To want to stay in a place where he'd called Hell since he could remember, he didn't want to leave. Well, more like, he didn't want to leave Harry here. But Hogwarts don't let anyone below 11 to enter... right?

The visions of Abraxas' little sister flashed through his mind, and he realized that it wasn't true. It was alright for parents to visit their children, then why not 'brothers'?

"Tom!" Harry called, shaking his shoulder a little. "Tom, you've got a letter!"

"I do?" Tom looked at him, surprised. Harry grinned, an expression that melted his heart just a little bit more.

"Yeah, it reads... Umm... Hog...warts, School supplies list? What's Hogwarts?" Harry asked innocently.

"Ah, yes, Hogwarts," he replied. "It's the boarding school I go to." Harry's eyes widened at his words.

"Boarding school? You're gonna leave?"

Green eyes sparkled with tears, and Tom cursed himself for putting that expression onto his face. He softened his expression and knelt down so that their eyes were on the same level.

"Listen to me, Harry," he said, "I will  _not_ leave you here. I've seen how they treat you after that stunt you pulled at my exorcism. I've stopped some of them, but that doesn't mean that they'll stop doing it. That's why, I'll be talking to the Headmaster about you, and I'll ask him to let you stay in Hogwarts with me."

"You will?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I will," Tom said determinedly.

"Thank you, Tom," tears rolled down his cheeks, and Tom gave him a genuine smile as he wiped away the tears.

"You're welcome. Now, since I'll be taking you to Hogwarts anyway, how about we go buy my school supplies together?"

"Really? It's okay? For me to go with you, I mean..."

"Of course it is. I went to Diagon Alley alone last time anyway," Tom shrugged. Harry looked at him curiously before nodding enthusiastically.

"I'll go get ready!"

"Not so fast, Harry," he said, amused. "It's nighttime now and I meant that we'll go together tomorrow, in the morning." Red creeped up the younger boy's cheeks, but the excitement shone brightly from his vivid green eyes. That night, Tom could tell that Harry was too excited to sleep, judging from the movements from his bed. Tom closed his eyes.

* * *

A nicely-dressed Tom and a somewhat sleepily stumbling Harry climbed down the bus near the Leaky Cauldron. As Tom guided Harry inside, the younger boy wondered what he was doing in a... bar? Café? He didn't even know what this place was.

"Tom, why are we here?" he asked, looking around the room, noting the oddly-dressed people warily. He figured that this place would be Aunt Petunia's personal hell, which meant that she'd  _never_ enter such a place. The thought made a small smile grace his lips, and his excitement grew once more. Maybe this was a place where secret passages are, like in the telly, where they need to knock on woods and stones in a certain way to open it.

Maybe this was a secret place for a secret organization or--or a whole  _society_ of secret people who needs to be kept secret? Harry's young mind whirled with possibilities and ran wild with imagination. He wondered what Tom was doing in a place like this, a place for secret secrets to be kept secret among secret people.

"Tom, welcome," the bar keeper said with a smile.

"Good morning, sir," Tom replied.

"Who's the young lad, eh? Never seen 'im before?"

"This is Harry, sir," Tom said, drawing the younger boy to his side. "My... 'brother'..."

"H-hello, sir," Harry nodded warily, a tad bit shyly. He didn't like being amongst people when he practically grew up isolated, even from his own relatives.

"Nice ta meet ya boy!" Harry flinched. "Name's Tom, the barkeep."

Harry looked at his brother and then to the older man. "You both share a name," Harry wondered. "How did that happen?"

"A mere coincidence, I tell ya!" Tom the barkeeper laughed heartily at his question. "Ya'll find one or two people with the same name, I'm sure of it!"

"As fun as staying here and talking with you may sound, I have some school supplies that I need to buy, so I bid you farewell, sir," Tom said politely. Harry had never seen him act so politely. It made him smile.

"See you later, sir!" Harry waved, following Tom to a wall. He watched as he drew up... a stick? And tapped a few stones before it opened. He gasped in wonder at the sight. He never knew that Tom was one of the secret people from the secret society of secret secrets! Tom chuckled beside him, and he realized that he'd just said that out loud.

"Well, being a society of... secret secrets, as you say it, isn't completely incorrect, Harry," he chuckled, amused. "Welcome to the Wizarding World, Harry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short. And I'm hungry. And I'm sleepy. And I miss my own cooking. XD Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I think the next one's gonna be Part 2 of this day. Well, technically anyways. It'll be called School Supplies (maybe, not promising anything) and will have some >///< stuff. Maybe. This is my imagination speaking, and Scar is now done with life. Over and out!
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	7. The Little Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings for this chapter, except for cuteness and fluff~ :3 I love little pets btw, I wish I had a kitten in my house, but alas, I can't even take care of myself, much less a tiny critter like a kitty. Other than that, it's my birthday! I'm finally 18! Yay! //what has my life come to lol...

Tom enjoyed taking Harry to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies, his wide-eyed wonder was a sight to behold. He'd turn his head here and there, asking Tom many things about the displays and gasping at a few magical things. Tom just chuckled at his antics and proceeded to tug his hand to where he was supposed to go.

"Tom, why are they drooling over a broom?" Harry asked, tugging at Tom's hand to get his attention. "Do they like cleaning houses with new brooms or something?"

Tom saw a few people looking at his Harry with a scandalized look, miffed that a small boy had unintentionally mocked their number 1 sports. Tom just shook his head, smiling in amusement.

"No Harry, those brooms aren't for cleaning. Rather, they're for flying," he explained patiently.

"Flying?" Harry's wide eyed became even wider, if that were possible. "We can fly? On brooms?"

"Yes we can."

"How?"

"Magic," he said simply.

"But... Magic's not real?" he frowned with an adorably confused face.

"Oh, magic's real alright. Look around you--all these people are magical. Those things you see? They're magical too," Tom explained.

"Oh! So you're also magical, Tom?"

He smiled.

"Of course I am Harry. And so are you."

* * *

Harry's eyes widened in response. He's magical? That can't be! He's just a freak who has nothing special to talk about! Not like his Tom! His Tom is special, from a society of secret secrets, powerful and charismatic, intelligent and the best big brother he'd ever have! And coincidentally, he's also magical...

"But I'm not... I'm just a--a weird kid..." he mumbled.

"Harry," Tom's voice sounded patronizing, and Harry felt the need to look into his eyes, which he did so. "You're not weird, you're just you! Everyone's weird in their own way, and you're just weird in a Harry Riddle kind of way, okay?"

"Okay..." Harry mumbled, giving his Tom a slight smile.

"Now come, we need to get all of my school supplies before dark."

Harry nodded and continued to follow his Tom, grabbing his hand so that he'd stay close to him.

* * *

"Tom, Tom!" Harry whispered. Tom looked at him, his eyes wide with wonder, gaze glued to the window of a menagerie. "Look! The egg's hatching!"

Tom chuckled when Harry practically pressed his face onto the glass window, trying to see closer to the hatching egg. His glasses were pressing rather firmly onto his face. They watched avidly as a small, snake-like creature come out of the egg, its body yellow and red with black lining. There were small, soft-looking scales along its body, and its yellow eyes glowed.

"What snake is that, Tom?" Harry whispered in awe.

"I'm afraid we'll have to ask it first," he said quietly.

"It's a snake, but it has small legs, Tom!" Harry observed.

"That it does," Tom agreed, now curious as of to what breed the snake was.

"C'mon! Let's ask!" Harry said excitedly, running into the shop. Tom just shook his head and followed him.

 _"Hello, there,"_ Harry hissed, sending a shiver down Tom's spine--not that he knew of course.

 _"Hello hatchling,"_ the creature hissed back, much to the surprise of the shop owner, who was the only one besides the two boys inside the shop.

 _"May I ask what kind of snake you are?"_ Harry asked politely, much to Tom's approval.

 _"Oh, I am no snake, hatchling,"_ it hissed.  _"I am a dragon."_

 _"How did a dragon get into a pet shop?"_ Harry asked quizzically.

 _"That I sadly don't know, little hatchling,"_ the dragon said sadly.  _"I'm afraid I don't have parents anymore, or else I wouldn't even be here..."_

 _"How do you know so much when you're just born a few minutes ago?"_ Tom hissed.

_"Oh, we have lots of information ingrained into our DNAs, so all of our ancestor's memories are our memories."_

_"Wicked!"_ Harry hissed excitedly.  _"That's so cool!"_

 _"Indeed it is,"_ Tom replied curtly.

_"What are your names, hatchlings?"_

_"My name's Harry, and this is my brother, Tom!"_ Harry said happily.

 _"Apologies for the late introduction,"_ Tom nodded his head.

_"It's alright. I don't have a name though, so will you do the honours?"_

_"Umm...."_ Harry thought hard for a name.  _"How about Apollo? Because you look like the sun!"_

_"Apollo... I like that name... Thank you, hatchling."_

And then the dragon climbed up Harry's arm and settled into his neck.

"Are you buying that, sirs?" the shop keeper asked, not hiding his distaste for their parseltongue abilities.

"Please, Tom?" Harry asked, his eyes shining.

"I'm afraid I cannot afford to buy... a pet, Harry," Tom shook his head.

"Oh... okay... I'm sorry," Harry said sadly, looking very much like a kicked puppy at the moment. Tom glared at the shop keeper for making Harry sad with his question and lifted the baby dragon off of Harry's neck.

 _"Can you find us by our scents? Run away from this place or something?"_ Tom asked, not wanting to keep Harry sad.

 _"I'll need your blood first,"_ it explained, before biting his finger, drawing blood. Harry watched as the snake glowed brightly for a moment before Tom's magic settled.  _"I'll come find you as soon as I can, I promise."_

The shop keeper looked at them wide-eyed, not comprehending what had just happened in his shop. He remained frozen even as the two boys walked out of the shop and back to the muggle world, arriving at the Orphanage at dusk.

When midnight came, Apollo escaped the cage it was in and, helped by Tom's magic from his blood, flew to Wool's Orphanage, nestling itself between Tom and Harry, who was sleeping together as Harry wanted his bother's comfort that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick question, if I were to make an original story--not a fanfiction--will you read it? If yes, why? If no, well, why? Thank you!
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	8. Train Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes to Hogwarts with Tom. Apparently this isn't as PWP as I first thought! :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for not updating this all that frequently m(-_-"m) I've been feeling ill, what with my stomach doing weird stuff, dancing and such, and me sneezing all the time, coughing all the time, and also making an art book about a chicken race and such D: I'm also writing this while watching Unforgiving Let's Play video since I don't have enough heart to play it myself. It's very spooky, but I like the voice acting--even the ghosts (monsters too) have good voice-acting :D Isn't that cool?
> 
> Also, I've been reading fanfics where Harry is a Little and they're super cute XD Though I still can't imagine Sevvie carrying Harry around. It just looks very odd in my mind, but I don't mind :D I just imagine Harry being smaller and the problem's solved.
> 
> Anyways, enough of my rant, my stomach's hurting again D: but enjoy this chapter!

He'd sworn that he'd bring Harry to Hogwarts and ask Headmaster Dippet to allow him to stay. He'd also sworn that he'd... pursue anyone who disagrees with him, make them agree to Harry staying at Hogwarts. That was why he was determined to quickly get back to Hogwarts and immediately seeking Headmaster Dippet, maybe Harry would give him his special puppy eyes that would make even the coldest of hearts melt.

"Tom, Tom, look!" Harry squealed excitedly. "It's a big, big train! A big red train! Are you gonna ride it? Is the Hoggy-school need a train instead of a bus? It's so big and so loud! Tom, Tom, look, a whistle!" His green eyes sparkled as he looked around, pointing out things that he noticed, not caring about the attention he gathered. Many parents and older students cooed at him, but many more looked at him, disgusted. Most of them were his Slytherin dorm mates and their parents.

"Harry, help me with my trunk, please?" Tom asked him, and he immediately snapped to attention.

"Okay!" he agreed readily. It somewhat surprised him, to be honest. He was expecting a more... reserved and timid reaction--asking him if he was allowed on the train and such. Maybe it means that he's coming out of his shell a little bit? Chuckling, he mussed up Harry's already-messy hair, and proceeded to guide him into the train.

Hogwarts Express was big on the outside, but was also way bigger on the inside. Harry looked around, awed. Tom could see that beneath all that awe, he was a little bit confused, but accepted it as just his imagination. Probably.

Finding an empty compartment, he pulled his Harry inside and put his trunk into the luggage space above the seats. Just as the two sat down, Harry on Tom's lap as he was being squirmy and wouldn't stay still, the door opened, revealing a first year who looked like his head was in the clouds.

"Why hello, mind if I sit here?" he asked in a dream-like tone. Tom was ready to object, but Harry had opened his mouth first.

"Hello," he replied shyly. "We won't mind."

"Thank you," the boy smiled, making Harry turn to Tom in embarrassment. "That's a cool baby dragon you have."

"His name's Apollo!" Harry beamed, and the dragon hatchling hissed in pleasure at being acknowledged. Tom sighed and let Harry do the talking, seeing as he was smiling and not having a hard time socializing at all.

"I'm Xion Lovegood," he introduced himself.

"I'm Harry Riddle!" the boy in his lap said happily. "Tom's my brother!"

"Ahh, you brother, hm?" Xion asked, his eyes clear for a moment before it became dreamy once more. Tom narrowed his eyes at him.

"Yup!" Harry replied, oblivious as he popped the 'p'.

"But you don't look like each other?" Xion asked, his eyes cleared once more at Tom's narrowed eyes.

"Mmhm, Tom adopted me as his brother, so we're brothers now!" he nodded to himself, his logic making sense to him. At least.

"Is that right..." Xion said. "That sounds nice."

"It is!" Harry gushed. "We went to Diagon Alley the other day to buy his supplies and it was huge! And there were so many things there, and he said that we can fly too! On broomstick thingy! And then-and then, we watched Apollo hatch, and then--" he babbled on, not noticing the staring contest happening between the two older students.

"So I assume you're not going to Hogwarts yet?" Xion asked him, his tone dreamy while his eyes shone with clarity.

"I'm going to Ho-Hoggy--Hoggywarts right now," Harry pouted, confused.

"Hogwarts, Harry," Tom corrected.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Harry told him with a pout, then returning his confused eyes towards Xion.

"Ah, no, I mean attend it as a student," he said with a chuckle. Harry froze at that. He'd never gone to school before, the Orphanage taught the children as public schools were very expensive, and the Dursley's also didn't want to spend any expenses for his schooling. So no, he'd never gone to school before. The fact made him feel insecure--will he be able to attend Hoggy-warts? Er... Hogwarts?

He turned insecure, confused eyes at Tom, and he saw the unasked question there.

"You will, Harry," he reassured. "You're just not old enough yet."

The relief was visible, his shoulders slumped and a smile crept up his face. Yes, he will be going to Hogwarts, but when he's older. It made him feel happy, and he sagged against Tom's chest. Xion just watched the two, his eyes sparkling with knowledge. Tom watched him suspiciously when he started humming an odd tune, his eyes dreamy and unfocused once more.

He was a dangerous person, that was for sure. But is he an enemy? Or is he an ally? Tom continued to watch him until they arrived at Hogwarts. Xion Lovegood is an odd character, that was for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter was a lot harder than I thought, mainly because I didn't know where to start. And once I finished, it became a short chapter. I'll add some yummy stuff after Harry's settled in Hogwarts, me thinks. Also, I always thought that my exams start on Monday, but apparently it starts from Friday this week D:
> 
> Anyone have a skewer stick thing? I need one to clear up my head (idk how but I will...) Or maybe I'll buy sate somewhere... Hmm...
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	9. Welcome To Hogwarts!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh exams practically killed my hand D: And that was only one subject m(-_-"m) Essays are always my worst nightmare when I have multiple exams in a day D:
> 
> Anyways, since a lot of you wanted more of this, here you go! I had planned on putting this scene in the last chapter, but while I could actually do it, halfway through writing it, my friends hounded me to study with them, so when I came back, I just checked where I left, continued it a little, then thought that I'm too tired so I stopped right there. Which is why it was such a short chapter D:
> 
> Enough of my rants, though, and enjoy!

Hogwarts castle was huge! Harry couldn't believe that Tom stayed in such a huge place most of the time!

"Come, Harry, let me take you to the Headmaster," Tom said, taking said boy's hand in his in a gentle, yet firm grip.

"Okay," Harry breathed, his eyes wide and trying to see everything at once. He faintly heard someone call for the First Years to go somewhere, though he wasn't really paying attention. They were a few ways away from the castle, and had to take the weird carriage things that had no horses--but they moved anyways! It was amazing! But the path they took to get to Hogwarts wasn't all that pleasant.

It had lots and lots of bumps and it was so dark except for the lantern... He leaned further into Tom's warmth, trying to keep his fears at bay. He didn't like the dark at all. As if sensing his need for comfort, one of the older boy's hand combed through Harry's hair soothingly. It felt nice, and he felt just a little bit safer, knowing his Tom was there to protect him no matter what.

"Riddle," a smooth voice called, and Harry peeked over Tom's body to see who it was. A blonde teen climbed into the carriage with a cool smirk, his blue eyes calculating. They widened at the sight of Harry though, and he thought of what he did that was so wrong, that he'd look at him like that.

He didn't like it at all.

Burrowing his face into Tom's side, Harry decided that he didn't want to know anymore. He just wanted--no, needed Tom. He's all that matters to him, so ignoring the others is okay. At least that's what he thinks.

Tom, on the other hand, greeted the Malfoy heir, Goyle, Crabbe, Parkinson, Avery, and a few others. It was very suspicious, though. Why did they choose his carriage, when all of them would probably bully him anyways? His hand gripped Harry's head just a little bit tighter and pulled him just a little bit closer. Other than that, he faced his Slytherin dormmates with a cool mask.

He only gave each of them a nod in greeting before his dark eyes watched them closely.

But they weren't looking at him--they were looking at his Harry.

It's unacceptable.

"If you'd refrain from ogling at my little brother, that would be far more appreciated," he stated harshly. Malfoy just chuckled at him.

"Ah, no, we're not... ogling at him," he smiled. "We're just curious about your... Little brother. Care to tell us about him?"

His smile was dangerous, but Tom would not let that deter him.

"He's my little brother," Tom said with a nod, but didn't give them any more elaboration. Malfoy's face twitched just a little bit, showing his displeasure, but he smoothened it out.

"Ah, I see," he nodded and changed his tactic. "Hello, little one, what's your name?"

Harry was startled that someone was talking to him, and he looked up from his hiding place. The blonde teen was smiling at him oddly, and Tom was obviously irritated. Did he not like the blonde teen? If Tom didn't like him, then he shouldn't really talk to him... right? But he asked a question... he buried his face once more into Tom's side, not giving the blonde teen an answer.

It seemed to tick him off, but Tom's satisfied expression was enough answer that he'd done the right thing. He smiled when Tom's fingers massaged his scalp--it felt very nice...

"Very well," he heard the blonde teen say. "We'll settle this sometime..." Was that a threat? Judging by the tensing of Tom's hand, it was a yes. He glared at the older teen with his most venomous glare, and he looked shocked enough, so he knew that if he messed with his Tom, he'd be facing Harry. With a satisfied exhale, he went back to hiding in Tom's side.

The ride to the castle soon ended with no more dramatics, and Tom tugged Harry out of the rather crowded carriage. Harry nervously gripped Tom's hand and followed him closely. Many students were looking at him, and he didn't like it.

* * *

"Headmaster Dippet," Tom greeted, thankful that he found him before going into the Great Hall.

"Ah, Mr. Riddle, what can help you with?" he asked. Tom was about to tell him about Harry, but saw the one man he didn't like. Albus Dumbledore. But maybe showing him that he's taking care of his little brother will make him see that he's not all evil? Maybe...

"I'd like to ask for your permission, in regards to keeping a non-student in Hogwarts?" he said politely.

"Ah, and who may I ask, is the non-student?" Dumbledore asked curiously, that thrice-damned twinkle twinkling so damn hard in his eyes. He hated it.

"Harry Riddle," Tom answered.

"A Riddle?" the Headmaster looked confused. "Aren't you an orphan, boy?"

Harry flinched at the last word, and Tom filed that information away for later.

"Ah yes, I am," Tom nodded, "but you'll find that he's a special case, I couldn't just leave him alone in the Orphanage. You see, Harry's magical, and to let any non-student to stay at Hogwarts without any emergency reasons, they'd have to be a sibling or a close relative of a student at Hogwarts. Which is why I adopted him in the first place."

"Ah, I see... I didn't expect any student to read the rule book, much less a second year student," the Headmaster nodded in approval, and Tom gave him a genuine smile. "Well, I can give you permission, but only if you take care of him, and see to it that he doesn't find himself in any trouble."

"Thank you Headmaster Dippet," Tom nodded.

"And he will also sleep in your dorms--I'll give you your own room so that you and little Harry here could settle nicely together," he chuckled. Harry pouted at being called little, but since he was allowed to stay with Tom, he didn't mind all that much. He gave the Headmaster and the Professor a small, heart-melting smile that made both men want to coo at him.

"Thank you, sirs," he said shyly and ducked his head.

Tom was inwardly rejoicing--he didn't think that it would be so easy to convince the Headmaster to let Harry stay, but he was thankful nonetheless.

"Now come on, everyone's waiting for dinner to come," Professor Dumbledore said jovially, and they all went into the loud Great Hall. When Harry sat down in the Slytherin table, right next to Tom, he suddenly noticed that many eyes were on him, all of their gazes curious. He wanted to hide himself behind his fringe, but Tom nudged him.

"Hey, Harry, look up," he said softly. Curious, he did so and gasped.

The ceiling was the sky! All the stars were visible, as it was a clear, albeit windy, night, but it was so cool! He turned wonder-filled eyes to Tom, and the older teen just chuckled at him. Then came the 'Sorting' thing, where an old and ratty hat was put onto the first years' heads and shout each House's names, and apparently that's how they're sorted.

Everything was so, very, very magical! Harry became excited. If in a few years he'd attend Hogwarts, which House will he be in? His musings were stopped when he saw a familiar blonde--Xion Lovegood was about to be Sorted! He was a nice friend, especially to Apollo, who was now sleeping under his clothes.

"Slytherin!" the hat called, and murmurs arose. Harry didn't care though.

"Xion!" he called excitedly, waving his hand, much to the disgruntlement of many Slytherins. But then again, most of them were clapping with questioning faces.

"Hello, Harry," Xion said dreamily. "Nice to see you here. The Headmaster approved of your stay?"

"Uh-huh, and I'm gonna be in the same room as Tom! Isn't that great?" Harry said excitedly.

"That is great, indeed," Xion agreed, but his eyes met Tom's briefly.

The last person to be sorted was a 'Zabini, Melinda', and the Headmaster gave out a few rules and announcements, before food suddenly appeared on the table. On all tables, to be exact. Harry couldn't believe his eyes--there was so much food! Was he supposed to eat all that? He looked at Tom nervously, and Tom nodded.

"How about we eat fruits for tonight?" he suggested, and Harry gave him a beaming smile.

"Okay!" he nodded, and Tom piled up a lot of fruits into a bowl before giving it to him. It had so many berries and cut fruits, and... Um... "Tom?"

"Yes Harry?"

"What's this?" he asked, holding up a yellow, hard fruit. It was long, and his small hand could only hold the handle-like part.

"That's a banana," Tom said.

"How do you eat this?"

"Ah, here, you peel this off first, see?" Tom demonstrated, and Harry was amazed. The hard part was actually just skin! The inside was soft and smooth, and when he bit it, it easily melted in his mouth with a sweet taste that he liked.

He didn't know though, that the sight of his small lips latching onto the fruit before he bit it, and the small moan he gave when the taste hit his taste buds, was giving Tom and a few other students very problematic problems.

"It's yummy, Tom!" he said happily, before continuing on eating, oblivious to the plights he'd bestowed onto many people.

* * *

By the time they entered their rooms, Harry was dead-tired. He wanted to shower with Tom, though, but Tom said that he'd probably hurt himself more than cleaning himself at the moment. He was swaying back and forth, and it was quite dangerous for him to walk on wet surfaces. With a compromise of a bath in the morning, Harry went to the big bed, which was Tom's and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OwO I can see you all and your minds trying to imagine dirty stuff out there... XD jk. Anyways. Imma go sleep now, even though it's only 3 PM almost 4 PM :D I wanna stay up late for a game event, so yeah... Thank you for reading!
> 
> Btw this chapter was far longer than I thought it'd be, so I'm actually glad that I didn't post it with the last chapter. :3
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	10. Bath Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished a Boss Event in an online game I played, and while it was satisfying, I didn't get the stuff that I wanted... :T And it's now 2:35 AM and I'm hungry D:
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: bath time. XD And some other, lecherous beings called 'horny upper classmen' being a peeping tom for some reason. :9 Enjoy!

Sleeping in a private room in the dorms was definitely a new experience. Sure, most of the Slytherin population did not snore, or make other noises when sleeping, but the lack of breathing sounds, except for Harry's, was a bit... disconcerting. Not to mention that there were two beds, but Harry was sleeping in his. He must've been very tired to fall asleep without at least taking off his clothes.

Gently, as to not disturb the sleeping child, Tom pulled off the shirt off of him, proceeding to pull down his trousers as well. The sight of a nearly-naked Harry made him gulp, especially remembering how he looked when he ate the banana... Even  _he_ had trouble with his tightening trousers when he saw, but it was immediately squashed by the rage he felt when he saw other people looking at his Harry in a weird way.

He felt that he needed to keep him away from sight, Harry was much too gullible and innocent to think too much--to even notice their stares.

He hated it.

Harry was his and his alone.

With a low growl, he took off his clothes until he was only in his boxers. He climbed into bed and spooned his Harry, a nose in the crook of his neck, which he licked and sucked at, marking him. He wasn't stupid enough to make a mark which everyone could see, but he needed to mark him, let everyone know Harry was--is _his._ The salty taste of his skin made him feel... nice.

Eventually, he dozed off, the solid warmth in front of him giving him a safe feeling, the faint feeling of a heartbeat lulling him to sleep. Eventually.

When he woke up in the morning, he was glad to find that his Harry was still asleep. Casting a  _Tempus,_ he got up and stretched. It was still early, but after not taking a bath the night before, he felt dirty, grimy. He shook Harry awake, and his heart melted at the sight of him slowly blinking awake.

"Tom...?" he slurred sleepily.

"Get up, Harry, we need to take a bath," Tom coaxed gently.

"M'kay," was the reply he got, but Harry made no move to get up.

"Harry..." Tom coaxed again.

"Five m're min's?" he mumbled sleepily, snuggling into the pillow Tom had used before.

"No, Harry, now," he warned. "Do you want me to be late on my first day back in school?"

That did the trick. The sleepy eyes opened slowly, as if his eyelids were heavy. But he did scoot towards the edge of the bed and sat up. Knowing that Harry would take a while to stand up, Tom made to prepare for his and Harry's toiletries, choosing his clothes and taking out his Hogwarts robes for himself. Like the child he was, Harry toddled over to Tom sleepily, his hands trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Come."

He guided Harry to where the showers were, entering a stall with Harry and proceeding to strip him completely. With both of them naked, he turned on the shower and let the spray hit him, already warm thanks to magic. He beckoned Harry, who was standing out of the spray zone, unused to magic doing most of the things almost instantly for living conveniences.

Tentatively, he joined Tom under the spray, and his eyes widened in surprise. "It's warm," he said, surprised.

"It is," Tom agreed.

"How?" Harry asked him, his mind still too sleep-addled to remember that magic did it. Deciding to just indulge and answer him, Tom said rather mysteriously;

"Magic."

Harry giggled at his antics and let Tom wash him, relaxing as Tom's hands lathered bubbly soap down his body, squirming when Tom told him to spread his legs so that he could access his genitals easily. "Tom, that feels weird," Harry said, feeling tingly wherever Tom was touching, especially when he pulled back the skin covering his penis head.

"Ah, but we need to clean even the most hidden parts," Tom said amiably. Harry thought about brushing his teeth, his mouth getting clean. It was a hidden part, so he understood where his Tom was coming from.

"Will you help me clean them again?" Harry asked innocently.

"Sure," Tom nodded with a smile. Harry couldn't clean his mouth as properly, as thoroughly as Tom liked, so he knew what Harry meant. "Now turn around and bend over," he instructed. Harry complied easily, liking it when Tom cleaned him like this. He could feel every inch of his Tom's body, and he was getting cleaned, so he thought that it was the best part of bath times.

And Tom's got magic hands too, when he touched his back and made him feel like a puddle of goo as he massaged it.

"Does it feel nice, Harry?" Tom purred. Blinking slowly, he wondered why Tom was asking something so obvious.

"Uh-huh," he nodded. "Oh, right there, feels nice..." he practically mewled when he felt a particularly tense part of his back loosening under Tom's expert hands. With a smirk, the teen reached down to grab at his smooth butt, making Harry squeak in surprise. A particularly firm push against his skin below his buttocks made him moan and lean forward.

"Good?" Tom asked.

"Uh-huh," he sighed. Bath times with Tom was definitely his most favourite!

* * *

Harry had needed to go to the loo, so he directed him on where to find it, gathering his and Harry's things as he did so. Once the soft patter of feet disappeared, he looked to the next stall which was closed, but unlocked.

"Pervert," he remarked, grinning when the Malfoy heir and the Lestrange twins blush at him.

"Y-you were," Rabastan stuttered.

"Doing him..." Rodolphus whispered in surprise, continuing his twin's words.

"You're the pervert," Malfoy gave him a cold look. "You're lecherous enough to touch him... like that."

"Of course I'd touch him like that, I was bathing him," he smirked, knowing what was going through the three older teen's heads. "On the other hand, you were peeking into his bath time and getting hard-ons?" The raised eyebrow emphasized his meaning, and the three glared at him.

"Tom?" Harry called. "I need help, please."

"Right away," he called back, flashing them a triumphant grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hungry. This chapter's not too long, I guess, my stomach was telling me to go eat despite it being, like, 4 AM right now... But I'm still hungry, so. And for some reason, this chapter is a bit... confusing, I think, so I might go back at a later date, once my head is not filled with other Network Connections interrupting mine and whatnot.
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	11. Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wants to give Tom a gift, but ends up getting accosted by a few students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like snacking. Too much. Though sometimes they give me indigestion... -_-" Though I don't really like eating too much of one thing, unless that one thing is sushi. And even then, I'm allergic to a few sushi, if I eat too much of it. Like Salmon sashimi. I love it a lot. But if I eat more than one serving, my eyes will get coated by some excess protein and I need an eye drop for that. A very specific eye drop that I don't have currently. Oof.
> 
> Warning: not much, just some typical bullying from typical bullies who likes to bully people--it's in their job description.

Tom had classes that day.

Harry wondered what he should do. He just got back from breakfast, which had a lot,  _a hell lot,_ of food, and Harry didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to eat them all? Was he supposed to not eat at all? He remembered when Vernon would tell him to stand in the corner of the dining room and watch them eat, and not let him eat anything at all.

But then Tom took his empty plate and filled it with a few things; omelet, steamed fish, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and some fruit. It was delicious, and Tom had told him to eat all the food in his plate. He'd beamed at him, grateful that he didn't have to eat  _all_ the food in the Great Hall, and didn't have to go hungry also. Harry ate with enthusiasm, knowing that Tom would protect him if some people decide that he's not allowed food, like back in the orphanage.

Harry love, love, loved Tom a lot! Especially when he protected him and listened to all his adventures, and helped him through many difficulties. He'd do anything for Tom, no matter what. His Tom is his whole world.

_And what better way to tell him how much I love him by giving him a gift?_

He'd heard from his Aunt Petunia one time, that all gifts are a representation of how one felt towards another. Surely he could give Tom something that showed him his love? But thinking back, he didn't know what Tom liked, not exactly at least.

He knew that Tom loved books, but he didn't have the money to buy the books that Tom likes. He knew that Tom loved snakes, but the Headmaster had said that the Forbidden Forest was forbidden because there are far, far more dangerous creatures than snakes, and even Tom forbade him to go there. Which left him in quite a dilemma, as even if Harry could cook, he didn't know what kind of food Tom loved the most.

Harry loved chocolates, and treacle tarts, and gum drops, and he even liked those jawbreakers that he got once from Tom. (He knew he'd taken it from Billy, but he wouldn't mind him getting a jawbreaker, To said.) But what did  _Tom_ like?

After thinking long and hard, Harry decided to ask Tom himself.

Jumping off Tom's bed, Harry made his way to Tom's class.

* * *

... Except that he didn't know where Tom's class was, nor what it is.

Once Harry had made his way out of the 'Slytherin territory', which apparently was the dungeons, he took the first set of stairs that he found, and made a right. And he realized right then and there, that while the castle looked huge from outside, it was an even bigger 'huge' inside, and was more like an ever-changing maze.

At some point, he'd made a turn, and caught an armor moving all on its' own. He was shocked for a moment, and then knocked on said armor, asking if someone's trapped in there. The armor just laughed, along with a few portraits that could move around him, and they explained that the armor (and moving portraits) could move thanks to magic.

His eyes became wide with awe, and he thought,  _If magic could make things move on its own, as if they had a life in them, then maybe I could make something for Tom, like the ceiling in the Great Hall!_ With determination, he nodded and told the talking portraits thank you, and moved forward.

He didn't realize that he was going the wrong way until the fifth set of stairs he took led him  _up_ instead of  _down._

How that happened, he didn't know.

But what he  _did_ know was that a few students had cornered him for some reason. It reminded him of when the Orphanage bullies would corner him and bully him, reminded him of when Dudley would finally corner him after a long while of chasing him around. But Tom had told him that if that did happen, he shouldn't let them see his fear, nor should he let them have their way with him as they pleased.

So he looked up challengingly, though his cute, childish face took away the fearless bravado he wanted to put forth.

"Hey look, it's that Slytherin scum's widdle brother," one of them said. He had a pudgy face and slicked back hair, and his tie depicted the Badger's House.

"You think he's lost?" another one asked, his voice timid. He was clearly the youngest of them all, though he had similar features to the older Hufflepuff student.

"I'm not lost," Harry said with a pout. The timid student cooed at him, and the older one scoffed.

"Sure you're not. How about me and my friends play with you," he sneered, looking down at him. It couldn't be helped, since Harry  _was_ quite... on the small side. But he seemed to be doing it deliberately.

"Loren!" someone called from down the hall. Three other people appeared, and two of them was from the Lion's House, while the other from the Badger's House. Harry looked at them all with slight apprehension--but he promised Tom that he wouldn't show his fear, so he wouldn't!

"Loren, what's a kid doing here? Is he lost?" the Gryffindor asked, his amber eyes looking at him in scrutiny.

"He's probably here to spy on you Gryffs. He's that Slimy Slytherin's little kid bro, probably here to taint us light ones," the Hufflepuff sneered. Harry looked at him, confused. 'Light ones'? Not that he was being racist, but he wondered what that meant, especially as he was talking to someone with a darker complexion. Sure he was somewhat tan, but how was that going to make  _their_ complexion look darker?

Did they like dark complexions? Did they hate it? Why wasn't their friend getting offended by his statement? He didn't know, not really.

"Aww, look, Loren, he's confused," the other Gryffindor cooed. He didn't look all that threatening, no. He had similar green eyes, like his though evidently darker, and blond, long hair, like a girl's, if he didn't say so himself. "Patil, you think he's innocent?"

"I think he's innocent, so stop this, Loren," the Gryffindor with a dark complexion sighed. "You know what they say, don't wake up a slumbering dragon."

"What's this kid got to do with a metaphorical slumbering dragon?" Loren asked with disgust, his face showing clearly his thoughts on what he thought about Harry. Well, sorry if his skin's a little bit on the tan side--Tom wanted him to spend more time outdoors than indoors, and he liked having his adventures!

"Well, you know how Slytherins are, they could hold out a grudge and when they enact said grudge, they'd make it last," the other Hufflepuff finally spoke, his light brown hair bouncing as he shook his head. Personally, Harry thought that he had a rather fluffy hair, and would like to pet it. "You know, Dark wizards and all."

"Yeah, they do like to make the torture last," the Patil guy rolled his eyes.

"Then why don't we take it out on this kid right  _now,_ " the Loren guy said, swinging his foot so suddenly that Harry didn't have time to react. A leather-like boot hit his face, and he cried out in surprise when his back hit an armor, toppling it over and making a noise. He could taste the iron tang of blood on his tongue from accidentally biting it, and his cheek burned.

The sound of the armor toppling over was loud, though. So in no time, someone came. "What do you think you're doing?" that someone drawled. Harry was too busy fighting tears from spilling that he didn't look up. It'd been a while since he'd felt pain like this, that he forgot how painful it was to feel  _pain._ He didn't like it at all.

"P-Professor Prince!" Loren stuttered. Said professor just raised a white eyebrow.

"A very good observation you made, there Mr. Norman," Harry could hear the sneer in his tone, and he couldn't help but think that he sounded like Tom, even if it's just a little bit. "Thirty points from both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff," he heard the students sigh in relief, "from each and every one of you." The perverse satisfaction from said professor was clear in his tone, indicating that he  _loved_ taking points--whatever these point things were. "Now off with you, unless you want detention for the rest of the month," he snapped.

Harry could hear that the bullies ran away with those words, and marvelled at the fact that at least  _this_ teacher could make the bad guys go away.

"Now let's see here..."

His chin was suddenly lifted, and he tried to wrench himself out of the firm grasp, not wanting to show this professor his tears.

"Be still you brat," the professor hissed, and Harry stilled, fear filling him on what he'd do to him. He closed his eyes and flinched when the professor raised his hand, and he heard him sigh. The was a rustling sound, and a  _pop_ of something being opened, and then the weirdest sensation went over his cheek--it felt hot, yet cool at the same time, and also tingly. He giggled a little at how it tickled.

Then he realized that he couldn't feel any pain at all anymore.

He looked up at the professor, properly this time, and saw a stern face peering down at him. Grey eyes seemed to look right into his soul, and he wouldn't put it past magic to be able to actually do that. "Thank you professor," he said shyly, not used to talking to someone when Tom wasn't there. The slight tilt of the other's lips made the old professor look far younger than when he was scowling.

"No problem, you are my student's ward, and that makes you fall under  _my_ protection too," he said. Harry beamed at him. He cleared his throat, and his face went back into that strict look. "Now, are you lost?"

"Um, I'm--I'm not!" Harry insisted. Why is it that everyone said that he's lost? He's not lost! "I'm just looking for Tom..."

"And how, pray tell, did you manage to end up in the sixth floor?" the professor raised his eyebrow again.

"I was looking  _all_ over the place for Tom, and then I got here," Harry explained.

"You realize that it's almost dinnertime, and your... brother has been looking for you for hours?"

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked around. There weren't any windows to indicate how long he'd been walking around the castle for, and the darker places of Hogwarts, which the sunlight couldn't reach, would always be lit with magical fire torches that would never be doused, so he couldn't tell exactly for how long he'd been searching.

The professor, seeing the surprise on the young boy's face, stood up.

"Come. I'll lead you to the Great Hall," he said, and Harry got up on somewhat wobbly legs to follow him.

"Sir, what was that tingly thing that you used on my cheek?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's a bruise-reducer salve," he answered curtly. "I made it myself, as being the potions professor in school gives me the duty of stocking the school's infirmary with salves and potions and such."

"Potions? You're the potions teacher?" Harry asked with an awe-filled tone. "Please teach me how to make a potion!"

The professor stopped in his tracks to look at him.

"You want me... to teach you potions?"

"Uh-huh!" Harry nodded.

"Why would you  _want_ to ask  _me_ to teach  _you_?" the professor asked, his expression incredulous.

"I wanna give Tom something like a gift, you see, and Aunt Petunia said once that a gift is something that tells another person how you feel about them, and I wanna show Tom how much I love him lots!" Harry explained enthusiastically. "I mean, he's always getting hurt from protecting me from the mean bullies in the Orphanage and giving me lots of gifts that I  _really_ like, so I wanna give him something, and I think giving him a potion is good because Tom always gets hurt lots and your salve took away my hurt."

"I... see."

The professor was astounded by the love and innocence and the selflessness of the boy before him, and found himself wanting to help him in any and every way he could. But sadly...

"But I'm sorry, you are far too young to brew a stable potion," he said bluntly. He didn't like how the crestfallen look from the boy made his heart ache, he didn't like it at all. He sighed. "But, I can teach you other things. One of them are healing spells. You mentioned that... Tom... always gets hurt from protecting you all the time?" Harry nodded.

The professor kneeled, and looked at him straight in the eye, seeing only honesty and hope.

"Then I suppose I could teach you a few Healing Magicks. It's not the same as healing spells, and are better learned when you're still a child, when your magical core is still developing, as it needs a lot more magic power than healing spells, so your core will also grow exponentially from practicing it. You will, more often than not, end up passing out from learning said Healing Magicks, and you can't use it to hurt anyone. Do you still want to learn the art of Healing Magicks?"

Harry's eyes had become wide enough, by the time he was done with his speech, that he thought that the vivid green eyeballs would fall out of their sockets at any moment. Then Harry nodded, enthusiastically.

"Yes, please!"

"Very well. Tell your... brother... about your new arrangements. He'll show you the way to my office, and we will talk about scheduling your Healing Magicks study."

"Okay!"

"Now, here we are. Go to your brother," the professor opened the huge doors to the Great Hall, and urged him to go to the Slytherin table. Harry spotted Tom immediately and ran towards him with a huge, beaming smile. He couldn't wait to tell him all about his adventures in the huge castle!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeell, I honestly didn't like Slughorn that much, and I liked the Princes much, much more, so... There you go! This is Severus' grandfather btw, and Eileen is not yet in Hogwarts.
> 
> So! Did you enjoy it? :D
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	12. Augustus Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry learns from 'Professor Prince' and discovers something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: more fluff, and a sweet Tom somewhere... and a bit of touching. No, really. :P
> 
> I hate it when people do stuff, public-morally wrong, and says that the 'victim' is the one who did something public-morally wrong. Which is why I don't want to do it to others. Like my dad said, "Don't do to others what you don't want others do to you."
> 
> ... I think it was my dad who said that, but it could easily be my mom, or grandma... Anyways, I was afraid that last chapter would be a bit _too_ sweet, but I guess not. /w\ Enjoy!

The first class that day was Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, and while it wasn't all that bad, Tom couldn't help but think about Harry. He knew for a fact that Harry just couldn't do  _nothing_ if he can help it, and in hindsight, he should've at the very least give him a book to read. He'd been getting better at reading, and loved it the most when Tom gave him a reading assignment.

It wasn't too bad, since Tom would  _always_ give Harry educational books. He'd even told him to read a whole dictionary once, and he actually did it, telling Tom how interesting it was to see how many words in a language they had. Tom gave him a 'well done' and the beaming smile he received was totally worth everything in this whole wide world,  _and more._

Which is why when he got back to his room after classes that day and he didn't see his 'little brother', he'd panicked. Hogwarts was  _huge,_ and he wasn't exaggerating. He himself had gotten lost a few times before, and that'd been last year. What about a seven-year-old who'd never gone to Hogwarts before?

He immediately made his way to the Slytherin's Head's office and told him about his 'missing, possibly lost brother', and he'd agreed readily to helping him search for him.

When Dinner came and he still hadn't found Harry, Professor Prince had told him to go eat dinner and let him search. He was reluctant at first, but agreed eventually. A few minutes of sitting at the Slytherin table, and then the Great Hall's double doors opened to reveal an amused-looking Professor Prince and a little bundle of joy that immediately latched onto Tom the moment he saw him, Harry.

He listened as Harry told him about his idea about a 'super secret surprise gift from Harry for Tom' and the Potions Professor's offer, and the solution to Tom not giving him anything to do when he's in class.

He'd proceeded to visit said Professor's office when he noticed that Harry was getting sleepy.

"Harry, do you want to go to our room and sleep first?" he asked the sleepy boy, who shook his head.

"Nuh-uh, I wanna talk with Pr'fess'r Prince first," Harry mumbled, his words slurring a bit from sleepiness.

"Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh!" Harry said, even as his eyes drooped just a little bit. Tom sighed at his stubbornness, but looked at him fondly. Harry was just far too cute sometimes.

Arriving at Professor Prince's office, Tom knocked on the door. Upon hearing an 'Enter', the two opened the door.

"Ah, Mr. Riddle, Harry," the professor nodded. "Please wait a little bit as I finish a few more papers." Tom nodded and guided Harry onto a large chair that could hold the two easily, as they were small enough. Tom positioned them so that Harry would be sitting on his lap with his head resting on his chest. Sitting like this, he couldn't help but notice just how  _small_ Harry was.

Looping an arm around his precious 'little brother', Tom waited until the Potions Professor was done with grading his papers. Eventually, he felt, more than heard, Harry's breathing deepening and evening out. After a few minutes, he was sure that Harry was sound asleep, and by the time Professor Prince was done with his papers, Tom was also feeling a tad bit sleepy.

"Now, I could correctly assume that Harry had told you about my offer?" he asked, right to the point, which Tom was glad for, since he didn't know whether or not he could stay awake if the meeting would go longer than necessary.

"Yes, sir," Tom replied curtly.

"You do know what I'd be teaching him?"

"Healing Magicks, sir."

"Well then, when should his... class schedule... be? I wouldn't want to decrease your time together as I could see that he's fairly attached to you," the professor gave him an assessing look.

"Anytime when I'm not with him would be sufficient. I have a whole day of free periods on Thursday, and I finish classes after lunch on Friday, so I suppose Monday through Wednesday should be a good time," Tom replied politely.

"Well, Monday through Wednesday it is," the professor nodded at him. "You shall escort him here right after breakfast every Monday to Wednesday morning. I will be expecting him."

Tom nodded, already somewhat used to his Professor's no-nonsense way of talking.

"Now, any more questions?" he asked.

"That's all, thank you professor," Tom nodded.

"You're welcome. Now, curfew is nearing, you should go back."

"Thank you sir," Tom said gratefully, picking up a sleeping Harry and making his way back to their room. Once they arrived, he stripped both of them and marveled at the fact that he was taking away Harry's clothes, one by one. It was... somewhat hypnotizing, if he had to say something about it. Hypnotizing enough that he ducked his head and kissed the sleeping Harry's chest.

He trailed kisses all over the exposed flesh, up to his neck, until he reached his ear. He bit it lightly and sighed into his ear.

"I'm glad that you're still here, Harry," he whispered, relief evident in his tone. Harry mumbled something in his sleep and turned towards him, curling up immediately. Tom chuckled and quickly discarded his clothes and slipped under the blankets, pulling Harry with him. He closed his eyes and slipped into sleep with the scent of Harry on his nose, and his warmth in his arms. The two slept peacefully that night.

* * *

"Now, close your eyes and center yourself. Find you magical core and will it to make a ball of light that could heal others... that could heal... Mr. Riddle," the professor's smooth, deep voice resounded within the enclosed space of the potions office. Harry took a deep breath and delved into his mind. It wasn't a difficult thing to do, he'd done this many times before when the hurts had become too unbearable for him, and he wanted to escape from it all.

Little did he know that when that happened, he'd be in a healing coma, and that when he woke up, there'd be no more pains... well, not much anyways.

He easily found his 'magical core', a wisp-like light within his mind that had a golden glow all around him. It was still growing, so the fact that there were tendrils of magic escaping his core was no surprise for him--Professor Prince had told him that since it was still growing, that'd be a somewhat normal occurrence. What he didn't expect was the weird, greenish thing that latched onto the side of his magical core, looking as if it was hanging onto it like a lifeline.

Curious, Harry floated down and reached out. He was tentative, and when the greenish thing reacted defensively, Harry tried to calm it down.

"Shh, I'm not gonna hurt you," he whispered, and he willed his magic to cradle it gently. The greenish thing seemed to calm down, and Harry plucked it out of his magical core and held it like a baby. It gave him warm pulses, and Harry was enthralled. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that it was a foreign entity that shouldn't even  _be_ there. But then again, how was he supposed to know?

It might have always been with him that it might actually be  _a part_ of him. If it were, then he wouldn't exactly mind.

As that thought passed through his mind, the greenish thing immediately latched onto him, and--Harry gasped--merged into him. It was one of the weirdest sensation he'd ever felt, the feeling of getting so  _full_ of something, but he didn't know what. It felt  _glorious._

When it was done, he panted from exertion, and took a few deep breaths. He straightened up and looked at his wispy magical core, and reached a hand towards a tendril. He wanted it to heal, to make a healing light. He  _willed_ that tendril to become a ball of healing light, and he gasped again.

He opened his eyes and saw the deep, black orbs of Professor Prince.

"Well done," he commented, and Harry looked at his hand. A smile climbed up onto his face, and he nodded in awe.

But then he felt tired, so tired that his eyes immediately closed, and without warning, the healing ball disappeared, and Harry fainted from magical exertion. But the fact that he'd done it in the first place, that he'd succeeded on his first try, was amazing.

Augustus Prince, for the first time in his life, inwardly saluted at a young child. Harry Riddle was someone to be reckoned in the future if he kept this up. He could become as powerful as Dumbledore...  _more powerful than_ Albus Dumbledore in fact, and he looked forward to... investing his time for the child.

He conjured a comfortable sofa and a blanket, and placed him there, covering the small body up so that the dungeon chills wouldn't disturb his sleep. He'd need it.

* * *

The day couldn't have been more amusing.

After Harry had fallen asleep in his office, he'd gone to teach his classes, and a few of them had been called into his office for one thing or another. Their expressions when they saw little Riddle, sleeping so peacefully in his office, was very funny. He was famous for his cold attitude and demeanor, even amongst his coworkers. He wasn't exactly biased, but he was strict, and anyone who crosses his path when he was in a sour mood would get  _their_ days soured also.

He was feared and respected, and seeing a child of barely 6, sleeping without a care in the world in his office... He wondered what they would think about that.

Tom came before dinner to get Harry, and he hadn't woken up even once throughout the day. The magical exhaustion wasn't severe, as a spell had confirmed it before, but it was enough to knock him out for a whole day. He'd wake up the next day, he'd explained to the older Riddle, and he'd expressed his surprise when he found that Harry had created his first ball of healing light on his first try.

It was one of the most difficult things to master, and because it was difficult, yet most basic, he'd instructed him to do it. And he did it almost without difficulty.

He told him that he'd earned himself his respect, and he told Riddle that he wouldn't mind teaching him in the future. That certainly surprised Tom Riddle, and a calculating look entered his eyes.

This could become one extremely beneficial investment, and he couldn't wait to see the younger Riddle's skills in other things... especially potions.

He wondered what little Eileen would think about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa. 2 updates in one night. Wow. XD I'm impressed by myself, though this certainly is not my best record. That would be held by my KaiShin (Detective Conan) fanfic Closed in FFN. 3 chapters on the first day, and second day, and then one or two chapters everyday--or every other day. I had a lot of stress back then lol XD
> 
> I remember it was before some huge, important test before college... And yes, it was important because it was a national test thing and that it'd determine where I'd go for college. Such a long time ago... (2 years ago XD) I sound so old...
> 
> Anyways, what do you think about this?
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	13. Playdate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: A bit of violent things happening in Harry's flashback, like child abuse... Probably some fluff too actually, so you should brace yourselves... (>v^)9
> 
> I've been neglecting my fanfics for a while for Chinese novels lol XD... So my friend introduced me to novelupdates and I'd personally recommend a lot lot. I'll list it in the end notes, if you're interested. Anyways, here is a perverted Malfoy chapter, hope you forgive me for this. uwu Enjoy~

"Tom, Tom, try this one!" Harry said delightedly as he tried a peanut butter Croissant, which he filled with some dried fruits. Personally, Tom would tell him that it wasn't healthy to eat it as it didn't seem too appetizing, but Harry had already taken a bite off of it and was offering it to him with those sparkling green eyes. It made it difficult for him to refuse, so he nodded and took a bite off of the over-stuffed Croissant.

It was actually delicious.

Tom's surprise must've been evident, because Harry's eyes sparkled in delight. Tom reached out and rubbed Harry's already messy hair and said, "It's very delicious."

Harry's smiled turned blinding, and most of the student population, who caught a glimpse of it, had their hearts melted immediately. Only a pure person would smile like that, they were certain of it.

As Tom was rubbing Harry's head, a pair of silver-blue eyes glinted calculatingly.

* * *

Professor Prince looked at the door, through which Harry entered. He nodded in acknowledgement towards the elder Riddle and softened his gaze towards the younger child.

"Today, I will teach you about human anatomy," the Professor said. "If you want to heal someone, you will need an intimate knowledge of a human's anatomy." Harry nodded attentively. "Now--"

The fireplace flared up, and then there was a call of 'Daddy!' to which the Professor sighed.

"Eileen, what did I tell you about Floo-calling me when I'm at Hogwarts?"

"Umm," Eileen said, looking guilty. "Oh! Daddy, is that a friend? I wanna play with him!" And with that, the fireplace dimmed, before flaring once more, revealing a young girl in a pink dress, rose patterns sewn into the clothes shimmered under the dungeon lights. She had her hair tied up into a bun, and she looked to be around 10 years old. In her arms is a big bunny, dressed in a flowery dress gown, complete with a flower wreath on its' head.

But Harry didn't really notice all these things, he was still too much in shock at the fact that  _someone just came out of the fireplace._

"Hello, my name's Eileen!" she greeted the younger child.

"My name's Harry," he answered shyly. Eileen felt her heart squeeze at the cute way he said his name, and she'd decided then and there that little Harry will be her little brother.

"Daddy, Harry's gonna be my friend and little brother, will he?" she asked Professor Prince, who saw Harry's panicked expression when she mentioned about him becoming her brother.

"He may become your friend, but not your brother," the Professor told her sternly.

"But why?" she pouted.

"Because he already has an older brother."

"Then his older brother will also become my brother!" she said, confused at her father's logic. The Professor sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He didn't really like how difficult it was to manage little Eileen, she was really stubborn and would find loopholes in every word he said to counter her arguments.

"How about this, you two could play after Harry's lessons?" Professor Prince compromised.

"Okay daddy!" Eileen said, her smile lighting up the whole place. Harry looked at the two curiously. He wondered if he had a father, would he be like Professor Prince? He had this odd feeling that he wouldn't, but he decided that it was better to give his late birth father the benefit of doubt. Though, he couldn't help but feel jealous of Eileen--she had a kind person like Professor Prince as a father, after all.

For the whole lesson, Harry couldn't help but pout and be distracted. Eileen noticed this, and grinned. "Hey, Harry, how about we go and explore the castle now?" she whispered right into his ear. Harry looked at her with bewildered eyes, as if saying,  _'are you serious?'_ The girl just grinned and nodded. She gestured for him to follow her, when she noticed that he father wasn't looking at them, seemingly immersed in explaining about human anatomy.

They quietly slipped away.

* * *

True to her word, both Harry and Eileen went and explored the castle. Harry was far more weary than Eileen, due to his previous encounter with the bullies. He didn't let it bother him, though he kept his guard up. Previous experiences with Dudley and his gang had taught him that a scolding from a teacher wouldn't deter bullies-rather it'd make them even more aggressive.

He could feel his scars throb at the thought of bullies.

There was this one time, when Dudley fell while chasing him, Aunt Petunia had screeched at him, at how  _he_ was the one who bullied her 'Duddikins' and made him hurt. When Uncle Vernon had got wind of this, he'd belted Harry's legs so bad that he couldn't stand up the next day, which led to another screech-speech from Aunt Petunia about how he was wasting their money.

Remembering the phantom pains had nearly made Harry's legs buckle, his knees weak, but he caught himself just in time. Eileen was right in front of him, leading him to who-knows-where, and talking about how her father had caught a few people doing indecent things at some alcove. She didn't notice his moment of weakness, which was a relief.

It didn't last long though. Their path was quickly blocked by four older boys, all four towering over them as they sneered at them. Harry could vaguely remember who the other three were, but he knew with a glance that the one leading them was Abraxas Malfoy.

"What're you doing here, Eileen?" he asked in surprise.

"We're exploring the place," Eileen said happily. The Malfoy heir glanced at Harry for a second and returned his attention to Eileen.

"I need to talk with Mr. Riddle there for a moment," Abraxas said gently.

"No can do! Harry and me are gonna go around and explore the castle!" Eileen said, immediately grabbing Harry's hand with a smile on her face. "Find him later, after we're finished exploring! Bye-bye!"

And with that, Eileen dragged Harry away from the four older boys.

Harry looked at Eileen, and after a while asked; "You're close with Abraxas Malfoy?"

"Yep! He's my fiance, according to father anyways," she replied cheerfully. "He usually plays with me at home, so we know each other pretty well!"

Harry nodded at her words, silently wondering what 'fiance' meant.

The day passed with them exploring a large portion of the castle, and by the time dinner came, Harry was exhausted.

They entered the Great Hall, and Harry quickly located Tom. Eileen followed.

"You must be Tom, Harry's older brother!" Eileen said cheerfully once Harry was seated. Tom looked at her coolly and nodded.

"Yes, that's me."

Eileen grinned at him. "We're gonna be siblings!"

That announcement made even the usually stoic Professor Prince nearly choke on his tea, much less others who heard her rather loud announcement. And while everyone was shocked, Harry glared at her, shaking his head.

"He's my brother," he declared, hostility clear in his eyes.

"You both could be my brothers while being brothers to each other," Eileen said, rather confused. She didn't understand why the quiet and meek Harry from earlier would look at her with such intense hostility.

"Why do you want us to be your siblings?" Tom asked curiously, and Harry looked at him with wide eyes. He was surprised that Tom asked such a question-it sounded like he was considering it! Harry didn't want to share Tom, though. He was the bestest big brother in the whole entire world! And he was his!

Eileen pouted at the question and sulkily replied, "Daddy said that he didn't want to give me any siblings, so I have to choose my own!"

Tom stared at her, and his lips quirked up ever so slightly--which Harry saw as him losing his exclusive big brother. Tears started welling up in his eyes, and he felt like he was being abandoned. He didn't understand the hurt he was feeling, though. He just knew that he was sad that Eileen would have his bestest big brother in the world.

Augustus Prince saw how fast things were escalating, and put his foot down.

With one glare, Eileen knew that she had to go to her father's place, and Tom took this opportunity to usher a teary-eyed Harry out of the Great Hall. There were some things that needed to be explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this instead of sleeping, and now it's 1.57 AM... Wow... I should go sleep.
> 
> Good-night cookies for everyone! ^^/
> 
> \---- To be continued --


	14. Need Hugs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super embarrassed at how the animation project turned out, but maybe that's just me. https://youtu.be/86pGRCnEv80 The YouTube link if you're interested.
> 
> What's more interesting is just beyond this A/N! Enjoy~
> 
> Warning: Grab some tissues if you're one of those people who cries at the slightest heart-hurt-itch... like me. Also some more fluff~ XD

When the door to their room closed, Harry firmly kept his eyes on the ground. His heart was beating so fast, and his mind was making a storm in his head. He didn't know what to do, should he immediately run away? The chances of him being able to run and not get caught was very small... But Tom was going to abandon him anyway, so maybe it wouldn't matter whether he ran away or not?

His heart gave a pang of hurt, and he subconsciously clenched his fists so to stop the hurt feeling emanating from his heart. Tom led him onto the bed, coaxing him so that he'd sit on it. Harry didn't really want to, though. It'd be a bit more difficult to bolt if he sat on the bed. But Tom was the one who told him to do it, so he must do it.

Under Tom's urging, Harry obediently sat on the bed, refusing to look at his Tom. Wait, he's not going to be his anymore, right? He's going to be Eileen's big brother now...

Tom was distressed. He didn't know what he should do--he wasn't the type to comfort people! Especially crying people! Usually, he'd just take up an I-don't-care attitude, but he couldn't do that towards Harry! Tom had a feeling that if he did that, then something bad will happen. His gaze swept over Harry's down-turned face, his mind quickly thinking of what to do first.

Harry's eyes were getting red, and it made him feel... hurt, seeing that. So he decided that the first thing he should do is to make him stop crying.

But how?

He might be a genius in terms of magic and other academic-related things, but he knew that his EQ is particularly low. But how do people stop others from crying?

Tom's hands moved and cupped Harry's cheeks, still so soft and pleasing to the touch. He used his thumb to wipe away the tears, but it was of no use; more were coming as he finished wiping them.

He tilted Harry's head to face him, but his eyes were still stubbornly looking elsewhere. This made Tom feel somewhat irritated; how was he supposed to gauge his reactions if he couldn't even see his face clearly?

"Harry," he called, gaining Harry's attention. He'd been deep in thought before, and his green, shimmery eyes flickered towards Tom's face before it went back to looking somewhere else. Tom's heart clenched, did Harry not want to see him anymore? He tried again, a tad bit forcefully this time, "Harry, look at me."

Vivid green eyes immediately went towards Tom's face, and he didn't know what to say. Tom had a troubled expression on his face--was he going to tell him that they'll be siblings with Eileen now? Was he going to tell him that he's not his exclusively anymore? Was he... was he going to abandon him like this?

Harry was afraid. Very much so. He didn't want to lose his Tom, but if that's what he decided to do, then, there isn't going to be anything that'd stop his decision. He didn't want to lose him, but...

"Harry, what's wrong?" Tom asked, his tone gentle. He'd surprised himself at how gentle and caring he sounded. But he couldn't dwell on this fact right now, he needed to coax Harry into telling him what's on his mind--straighten any misconception he was having.

But Harry shook his head and kept mum.

Tom inwardly sighed, knowing that he'd have to make the first move.

"Are you afraid of us becoming siblings with Professor Prince's daughter?"

Harry's eyes widened a fraction, but since Tom missed the jackpot, he shook his head honestly.

Tom thought for a while, and then asked again, "Are you afraid of me becoming someone else's brother?"

And Harry froze.

How did he know? How did he guess? Did he read his mind? Is he a mind-reader?!

In an instant, Harry's mind turned into chaos, and he bolted for the door, not caring whether or not he had any chance to successfully flee.

Tom expected it, though, so he immediately caught Harry's wrist and threw him onto the bed, shocking him into stillness. He took advantage of that shock to straddle him, rendering him immobile. Now he knew the root of the problem, he could explain to him that he didn't intend on becoming siblings with the younger Prince if Harry didn't agree.

He hadn't opened his mouth yet, when Harry suddenly screamed, "Don't! Stop! Don't say it!" He was getting hysterical, and Tom's heart squeezed again until he couldn't breathe--but he needed  to tell him--

"I'm not going to leave you," he said gently.

Harry's wide eyes looked at him with grief. "I know you wouldn't," he cried, struggling to get away from Tom.

"Then why are you still crying?" Tom asked, a bit of impatience entering his voice. He knew that he wouldn't leave him, but why was he still crying?!

Harry shook his head, his words getting mangled as he tried to explain and search for an escape route fast. "You're-you're gonna be-- you're not gonna be my only big, bestest brother in the world! So-someone's gonna have you to be their bestest big brother, then you're not mine anymore!"

It took Tom a few moments to fully understand what Harry was saying. Once he did, though, he stared at Harry as if he was an idiot. Seeing this look, Harry felt his fragile heart starting to crack. Was he really going to abandon him, then? Truly?

He struggled harder.

"Only you have the privilege to have me as your best big brother," he said commandingly. Harry stopped his struggles and looked at him with wide eyes. He didn't know what to think--if Tom is his bestest big brother, then if someone else were to become his brother, then he'd also be their bestest big brother, right?

He couldn't understand Tom's logic at all.

Tom saw the confusion and sighed. "You do realize that I'm kind, but only towards you, right?"

Harry's eyes widened even more--if that were possible. He didn't know that, he never noticed how cold Tom acted towards another person. He's only kind towards Harry? He couldn't believe it! He had so many friends, how could he not be kind to them? This time, it was Harry's turn to look at Tom weirdly.

"I don't truly care about other people, how they feel, what they're thinking, it's only to you that I'd ask how your day was, whether or not someone is bullying you, I wouldn't ask those to a friend, Harry," Tom confessed, surprising himself, because--how did he not notice that himself before? He looked at Harry's dumbfounded look and gave him a small smile.

That broke Harry, but also mended him at the same time. Tears were flowing even more now, and he immediately hugged Tom. Did that mean that Tom would always be Harry's bestest big brother, but only to Harry? He was slightly confused at the logic, but accepted it at the same time. Tom was truly the bestest big brother in the whole wide world!

Tom on the other hand, could only helplessly hug him back, patting his trembling back as he cried into his shoulder. They stayed like that until Harry fell asleep from crying, and Tom conjured a wet towel to cool his puffy, red eyes so that i wouldn't cause any discomfort for Harry when he wakes up.

He tucked the younger wizard up, and placed a kiss onto his scarred forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know what I was writing tbh, but my heart ached when I wrote Harry's POV. Usually, I'd feel better when I write a chaotic state of mind--but my heart aches for Harry. QoQ Anyways, what did you think? Tried to make it a bit longer with more word count and feels, but I'm feeling pretty numb right now, so I'm not sure. L(-v-)J Who knows though.
> 
> \---- To be continued --


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